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Show Would it not be wise for our legislature, to do something in relation re-lation to persons held as prisoners in our Penitentiary, County and City prisons, that they may be made, as far as possible, self sustaining, sus-taining, and to provide means to make them such, by providing labor for them; not by laying out any great amount for machinery to do the work with but furnish common tools and material, something some-thing in the following manner: where men are imprisoned for a period of two years and upwards, have one workman who understands under-stands his business as a shoemaker or trade of some kind where the tools and material could be easily handled and start this class of prisoners to work at once and allow him so much a pair for work, then charge him for his board so much, then so much to keep up Vhr p.lnfViP.H. nnrl ro rrmVh toward r -.M , .. .- keeping up guard and other expenses, ex-penses, making it so that a man' who would work reasonably, would have a small amount in his favor, then keep this margin till the end of every month, and if he destroys any of his work, keep his margin to pay for it. If he is careful and takes care of his work and has a family, at the end of the month let him have his money to assist his family, if he has no family, let it be passed to his credit to be received at the expiration expira-tion of his' term. j I mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm-m.M I just mention shoemaking H one branch of business, but theS are many others coopering, aH others that might be mentioneH They should at least make tligH own clothes, and instead of turnjJH out of our prisons a lot of haiS ened wretches, who have 'beH made worse by their long impriH onment, we would send out, atkH a number of them that, havjjB been taught how to work, wouH see the good of it and would BfaH to work, and they would go to woiH for their living and would lbcH back to their prison life ag tjH time and place where, they maJH resolves by seeing what they migH b and so be a blessing to tlieuH selves instead of a curse. H Just try it gentlemen. TaniiH |